F1 Chinese GP: Renault still searching for points after China flop

Renault remains without points three races into its return as an F1 factory team with Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer down the order in China

Renault remains without points three races into its return as an F1 factory team, Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer finishing well down the order after a tough weekend in China.

Though Magnussen went into the race having been compromised by limited dry weather running, the Dane failed to progress from his 17th place starting position in a race with no retirements.

Lamenting a difficult weekend from start to finish in the RS16, Magnussen is hoping the lessons learned will help forge a stronger path in the future.

"It was a pretty steady race for me really. I had a decent start and then I didn't actually have much action; just passing people on strategy so no one was really fighting hard.

"This isn't a weekend that we will be very happy about but it's definitely one that we can learn from. There's a lot we still don't really understand so once we do, we'll be a stronger team. We knew it was going to be a tough start, we're not panicking."

Palmer, meanwhile, fared worse, struggling with the tyres as he laboured to 22nd position and last on the road.

"The start was good, as was the first lap - we made up a lot of positions. From then on though, it was a tough day. The balance of the car was all over the place, tyre degradation was bigger than usual and the pace wasn't as good as previous races. We need to look in the data really, and I'm definitely happy to move on to the next race."